Re: RF modulated CD players?

[raf40@oes.amdahl.com (Richard Funnell)]

This could become a real long thread, I'll bet.

>Hi Scott,
>
>I don't know the exact figures, but the frequency range covered by FM is
>somewhere in the region of 80-15,000 Hz. The range covered by CD is more
>like 20-20,000 Hz.

And the range covered by your car peakers is ...?

>Using a CD player that plays back via FM would lop off
>all beyond the FM specs, making it sound like... a radio transmission.

There is one heck of a lot more to sound quality than frequency response.
Only some of these parameters can be precisely measured, and even then
different people's subjective reaction to various kinds of distortion or
coloration vary.

I like the principal of retaining as much fidelity as possible when you can
(e.g. direct-connect CD rather than FM-modulated), because you'll lose so
much elsewhere.  I'm not sure it would make much difference, however, given
the quality of the rest of most people's systems.

I recall a friend who (pardon me while I age myself) used to continually
experiment with high-end phono cartridges because he never liked the sound
of any of them.  When I visited his place and listened to his system, I
couldn't get past the claustrophobic sound of his speakers to worry about
subtleties.

>A
>good one, with little static (at least I hope so) but no more than that.
>
>What would be the point of a CD player then? Tapes would sound as good, if
>not better!

Have you ever taken a good look at all the performance specs of a good car
tape player?  not great

>There's nothing that beats a good old wire connected CD chager
>(or an in-dash CD unit). I like CD for its wonderful deep bass and
>immensely clear high- if the recording engineer has done his job correctly,
>at least, but that's another story.
>
>Just my HO/0.02 guilders
>
>Tom
>1988 80 1.8S FWD

The most logical approach, which most of us avoid at all costs, would be to
compare the difference in price between FM vs direct, and see what else
that might add to you system to improve its sound.  For example, you might
be better off upgrading your speakers, instead, and you'd get getter sound
from FM, CD or tape.

... my $0.01 (after tax) worth


Richard Funnell,
San Jose, California
'83 urQ
'87 560 SL